CORRECT: Xero adds 23k customers since September

Feb. 7
(BusinessDesk) - Xero, the cloud-based accounting software
firm, added more than 23,000 customers to its client list
since September and says it's on track to double last year's
$19.3 million in annual revenue.

The Wellington-based
company has more than 135,000 customers and monthly
recurring revenue of almost $4 million, it said in a
statement. That implies annual sales of some $48 million.
Some 5,000 of the new clients were in Australia, where Xero
this week extended its range of products and faces
increasing competition from incumbents MYOB and Reckon,
which have both launched cloud-based services.

"2013 is
looking very positive for Xero as we see the benefits of all
the hard work in our early years," chief executive Rod Drury
said. "It's very pleasing to see so much momentum in the
business around the world."

Last year, Drury, co-founder
Hamish Edwards and director Craig Winkler sold down part of
their stakes in Xero to US tech investors Valar Ventures and
Matrix Capital Management, which also injected $60 million
of new capital.

The capital raise left Xero flush with
cash, and it had $85 million at the end of December
according to cash flow statements lodged with the ASX.

The company is loss-making at the moment as it looks to
secure 1 million customers in a drive to capture global
market share for the online, cloud-based business system.

The Wellington-based BusinessDesk team led by former Bloomberg Asian top editor Jonathan Underhill and Qantas Award-winning journalist and commentator Pattrick Smellie provides a daily news feed for a serious business audience.

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